Construction projects and work sites are often faced with issues when the soil in a work site has become contaminated with various materials. Contaminated soil may require remediation in order to remove the contaminants that may have accumulated in the soil over time. Contaminants are often found in the soil associated with industrial sites, sites related to the petroleum industry (e.g., refineries, processing facilities, and gas stations) and transportation sites (e.g., airports, rail yards, pipelines, etc.).
One method of decontaminating the soil in such sites includes the heating of the soil to sufficient temperature so as to burn off the various contaminants that have accumulated in the soil. One known method of performing this decontamination is by transporting the soil to a large industrial oven and heating the soil to the necessary temperature and then returning the soil to the site. This method is faced with many disadvantages including the cost of transporting the contaminated soil to the heating facility as well as the environmental issues associated with operating an industrial furnace.
A second method of decontamination includes heating the contaminated soil at the work site. U.S. Pat. No. 6,464,430, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference, includes an example of heating contaminated soil in a mobile decontamination apparatus at a work site. Known apparatus, however, include several disadvantages including efficiency, durability, and performance problems.
Therefore, there exists a need for an improved device that can efficiently, cost-effectively, and reliably remove contaminants from soil.